Filter media separate or remove solid particles from a system by providing a fine physical barrier. Some filters are detachable or interchangeable units due to the need for regular service and/or replacement, and some filters are in the form of large permanent filter tanks. As material builds up on the filtration media, the efficiency of the filter decreases until such time when replacement is required.
Many filters and different types of filter media are currently made from polymers, and when such a filter reaches its useful life of service, the spent filter material is replaced and discarded into a landfill. In the alternative, the spent filter material can be burned in a waste incinerator.
The ever-expanding amount of waste generated by society is well known. In particular, the placement of polymer-base materials in landfills has steadily increased over the last four decades. This method of disposal for polymer-base filter media is generally viewed as objectionable since decomposition of polymer-base materials can lead to the leaching and/or leaking of chlorides, fluorides, oil, metals and the like into the surrounding land and possibly into groundwater supplies. In addition, burning of polymer-base materials in waste incinerators is similarly viewed as objectionable with respect to pollution of the atmosphere. As such, methods to recycle polymer-base materials are highly desirable. However, heretofore filter media made from polymer-base materials have not been recycled and thus have been discarded into landfills. Therefore, a method to recycle polymer-base filter media would be desirable.